AT&T Announces Shared Data Plans

Wow… I’m sorry, there’s no way in hell anyone could possibly think this is any sort of deal! It looks like AT&T has found yet another way to creatively and blatantly screw over their customers. There are six share plans, ranging from 1gb up to 20gb per month with varying prices. The basic plan is $40 per month for 1gb of data, but you’ll need to pay $45 extra for each smartphone you want to use with the plan, up to 10 of them. So doing the math here you could feasibly pay $490 per month to share 1gb of data across 10 phones. Obviously you wouldn’t share 1gb, so let’s jump to the 20gb plan which would be $200 per month, but you get a discount so you’ll only pay $30 per smartphone. Here it could be $500 per month to share 20gb of data across 10 smartphones. Now if you want to add a regular phone it would be another $30 per month, maybe add a laptop for another $20 per month, and add a tablet for another $10 per month. So if I take my devices and want to share with my wife, I’ll take the middle choice which would be 10gb for $120 per month. That drops the smartphone price per month down to $30, so that’s two phones on the plan. Right now I’m at $180 per month on this shared plan but I’d also add my tablet as well for another $10 per month and probably another tablet as well which brings me to $200 per month. Nah, it’s not worth it at all I think…. I have three kids, and soon I’ll need phones for them, so in the future let’s say I’d also add them to the plan, that would jump me up another $90. Then again 10gb would not be enough then so I’d have to upgrade to 20gb so my total would then be $200 + $150 + $20 = $370 per month. No not worth it here either; $10 per gb is a rip-off and just ridiculously overpriced.

AT&T* customers will soon have more options in choosing the plan that’s right for them and their mobile devices. With new AT&T Mobile Share plans, available in late August, new and existing customers can share a single bucket of data across smartphones, tablets, and other compatible devices, plus get unlimited talk and text. AT&T Mobile Share plans make it easy for customers to manage their data, voice minutes and texting, without needing to keep track of multiple plans.

Customers can select one of the new shared data plans or choose one of AT&T’s existing individual or family plans. Current customers are not required to switch to the new plans, but can choose to do so without a contract extension. There are no changes to AT&T’s device upgrade policy, which means customers eligible to upgrade to AT&T’s best device price are not required to switch plans. The new plans will also be available for business customers.

With AT&T Mobile Share plans, customers start by choosing how much data they want each month, then choose up to 10 devices to attach to their shared plan, one of which must be a smartphone. Each plan includes tethering and unlimited domestic calls and texts for smartphones and basic or quick messaging phones. The larger the data bucket you choose, the less you pay per gigabyte and the less you pay for each smartphone added to the shared plan

AT&T Mobile Share allows customers to essentially build a plan to fit their devices and usage. Customers who are more data-centric can choose a larger data bucket. Customers who typically use more voice than data can add multiple smartphones and basic phones and opt for a smaller data bucket.

“We offer customers a broad choice and the best lineup of plans, now enhanced by Mobile Share,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility. “With these new plans, the more you share, the more you save. They’ll be a good fit for a variety of new and existing customers. But if customers want to stay on their current plan or choose from our existing plans, they can do that, too. It’s their choice.

“Today we think of people’s smartphones and tablets sharing a bucket of data. But in the future we’ll see health care monitors, connected cars, security systems and other devices in the home all connected to the mobile Internet,” said Christopher. “Our Mobile Share plans are simple, easy and a great value for individuals or families with multiple mobile Internet devices.”

Mobile Share plans give customers more control over how, where and on what device they use data — which has become more important as people use more data devices. You can choose to use more of your data bucket on your tablet, for example, or tap into your data bucket only when needed for devices you use occasionally. And by consolidating data plans, you can take advantage of any data you currently have unused each month by efficiently sharing it across devices.

“The ‘more you share, the more you save’ concept is one that will resonate well with customers because of the value provided through the Mobile Share data plans themselves and in smartphone connection fees,” said Roger Entner, Founder and Lead Analyst of Recon Analytics. “AT&T also is providing its customers with flexibility and choice by keeping its existing data plans and not requiring customers to move to Mobile Share unless they want to. It’s a win-win for both AT&T and its customers.”

To help customers track their data usage, AT&T keeps users informed with courtesy alerts as they near their data allowance for the month. Also, customers can check their usage at anytime online, through the myAT&T mobile app, or by calling *DATA# from their mobile phone.

Each data plan also includes access to more than 30,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots — the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network** among wireless carriers — at no additional charge. Wi-Fi usage at public hotspots, home or office does not count toward the monthly wireless data plan usage.

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Kristofer

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5 Comments

Drew HJuly 18, 2012

for a penny more than Im paying now my Data alotment goes from 400mB to 1GB? How is that a complete ripoff?

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KristoferJuly 18, 2012

I’m sure there are exceptions….

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Jim SzymanskiJuly 18, 2012

Let’s see. Right now I have 450min (49.95) of which I use about 25 minutes a month, 1,000 texts ($10) of which I use about 300 per month, and Unlimited Data ($30) of which I use about 300MB per month. That’s $89.95 per month.

With this new plan, I would get 1GB of Data, plus Unlimited Voice & Text (both of which I don’t need) for $85.00 per month. That would include tethering, which would be a perk although I would honestly use that infrequently. But I am not sharing yet. If I add a Surface Tablet to the mix, I am now at $95.00 per month. Only $5 more for adding a tablet, but with a 1GB limit, hardly worth it.

The 4GB plan with Smartphone and Tablet would jump that up to $120.00 per month, out of my range with my current employment status. If I kept the 1GB plan and went over my limit by 999MB, that would be $110 ($95+$15 overlimit fee). Almost plausible, but not much of a deal.

You know what, I am liking WiFi more and more each day.

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RamJuly 18, 2012

I have 5 line account with AT&T with 700 minutes unlimited texting plan and out of which 3 are grandfathered with unlimited data plan and 2 are 2 GB. With the way we use our talk and text I wont be saving much. The prices have to come down a bit before I lose unlimited data plan.

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JRDEMASKUSJuly 18, 2012

New cellular customers are pretty screwed.
I have been with ATT for around 15 years. I have a great plan. 4 lines total $186 a month. 1 line has unlimited data. All 4 lines have unlimited messaging and insurance, as well as the 450 min plan. With rollover min, we never come close to being charged for mins.
While it pays to stay with a carrier for a long time, OTA service is not exactly stellar. I have defended ATT for years, but it gets harder every day. My wife and I both have lousy connections at work, and at home we are in the basement and have some trouble there.
I would consider changing carriers, but with the new data plans, it is not worth it to give up my unlimited account.
Peace